Burke County authorizes letter of credit tied to $12 million BEAD broadband award
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Summary
Commissioners authorized a two-year letter of credit through First National Bank to meet a BEAD program requirement tied to an approximately $12 million federal broadband award; county staff said SPLOST funds will match the project and the county does not expect to draw on the credit.
Burke County commissioners authorized a county letter of credit required for a federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) award reporting an approximate $12 million allocation for broadband fiber deployment across the county. County staff said the BEAD funding will be matched by SPLOST funds already set aside for fiber and recommended First National Bank for the two-year letter-of-credit arrangement.
County staff described the letter of credit as a formality required by the grant program and noted the county does not expect to draw on it. “We'll probably never draw on it,” staff said during the discussion. Staff also described the arrangement as a two-year line of credit and suggested the nearest pricing they received was from First National Bank.
Commissioner Nicks moved to approve the letter-of-credit authorization for the BEAD application; Commissioner Kelly seconded the motion and the board approved the authorization.
Clarifications and corrections: during discussion a figure appeared in the transcript as "$12,000,000,012.05" which appears to be a transcription error; staff earlier clearly stated the BEAD award as $12,000,000. The board authorized the letter of credit paperwork and fee arrangement; staff will complete bank documentation and return any final cost details to the board.
What happens next: county staff will finalize the letter-of-credit paperwork with First National Bank, proceed with matching SPLOST allocations for the fiber project, and continue project development per BEAD program requirements.